Kankkunen now holds championships under the same car manufacturer’s name both as a driver and as a team principal. The rally legend from Laukaa, who won four world titles during his driving career, secured the drivers’ championship for Toyota in 1993 — the same year the manufacturer also claimed the constructors’ title.
Tommi Mäkinen has also achieved championships as both a driver and a team principal, but his drivers’ titles came with Mitsubishi, while his manufacturers’ titles were with Toyota.
Toyota has dominated this year’s World Rally Championship season. The Japanese manufacturer’s superiority is evident, having won 11 of the 12 rallies held so far. Its fifth consecutive manufacturers’ title was already sealed with three rounds remaining.
“The championship came in my first season as team principal. There’s nothing else to do but laugh. I’ve won seven titles before as a driver, but this was the first as a boss. I can be really pleased,” Kankkunen told RallyJournal.com.
“My clothes are completely soaked, but I’m not complaining. The boys doused me with champagne twice. Every championship feels good, but this one is certainly different.”
Kankkunen spoke warmly about his team, which is based in Jyväskylä.
“When you’re running a group of 180 people and keeping the drivers and everyone in good spirits -everyone’s still smiling – I guess that means the season has gone pretty well,” Kankkunen summed up.
“The biggest factor is probably the team spirit throughout the whole group. Everyone’s been in great spirits. I don’t think there’s ever been a season in history quite like this, where almost every rally is won. There’s been some luck, of course, but also a lot of hard work.”
Kalle Rovanperä’s victory and Elfyn Evans’s second place reshaped the drivers’ championship battle. Evans moved back to the top of the standings, 13 points ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Rovanperä.
“Tänak won’t be able to catch up anymore. You can see that Hyundai is a bit behind us anyway. The next rally is on tarmac as well. Saudi Arabia is a bit of an unknown, but I’m sure our guys will sort it out,” Kankkunen said.
“Kalle drove really well, and he didn’t make any mistakes. As far as I’m concerned, the boys can drive as hard as their souls can handle. It’ll certainly be fun to watch.”
